We’ve just finished the first week of the Olympics and there is another week more. A lot of tech is involved in the Olympics and I’ve included several of my favorite headlines. You’ll also find a lot of news involving Facebook in the last week. Those are just some of what is included so look […]

We’ve just finished the first week of the Olympics and there is another week more. A lot of tech is involved in the Olympics and I’ve included several of my favorite headlines. You’ll also find a lot of news involving Facebook in the last week. Those are just some of what is included so look over the headlines below and click on a headline to ready the full story.

After sharing a total of eight videos over the past few weeks from my CorelDRAW Unleashed books, today I’m sharing two videos from Corel PHOTO-PAINT X5 Unleashed. Note that the techniques described are identical in both older and newer versions of Corel PHOTO-PAINT so this is important information no matter the version you use. They […]

After sharing a total of eight videos over the past few weeks from my CorelDRAW Unleashed books, today I’m sharing two videos from Corel PHOTO-PAINT X5 Unleashed. Note that the techniques described are identical in both older and newer versions of Corel PHOTO-PAINT so this is important information no matter the version you use. They are completely FREE to watch, so watch and learn. After watching, I’d love it if you would consider purchasing the full training. All training titles are found on the CorelDRAW Unleashed site and it can be downloaded immediately after purchase.

The information in these two videos are extremely important for all users doing image editing with Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Watch them multiple times if needed to fully understand the instructions provided.

Hopefully you all know the value of USB Flash Drives. You can easily attach many gigabytes of storage to your keyring with something no larger than a beer opener. Heck, you can even have both! Over time the capacity of these drives has gotten larger and the speed they can read and write data has […]

Hopefully you all know the value of USB Flash Drives. You can easily attach many gigabytes of storage to your keyring with something no larger than a beer opener. Heck, you can even have both! Over time the capacity of these drives has gotten larger and the speed they can read and write data has gotten faster. No, I didn’t get anything for free. Yes, I’ll earn a few pennies if you buy from Amazon using the links I’ve provided.

There are many choices and it is hard to find one that doesn’t do the basic task of storing data and making it easily portable. So as we look for a new one, it should be judged on storage size, data transfer speed, looks and cost. The latest Samsung drives really caught my eye with their metal bar form factor. You won’t have to worry about the ring connecting to your keychain failing as it is nice and solid. USB 3.0 brings fast speeds and the prices are very competitive at each of the sizes: 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

If you haven’t gotten a new flash drive (or two or three) in the last couple of years, it might just be time to get something newer, faster and with larger capacity. These offerings from Samsung would be a great choice!

I encourage you all to read the first three stories linked below as they explain how people are buying fake followers on Twitter and the fallout from it. Even if you are not a Twitter user, it is important to understand this shady industry and why people are doing it. This includes many names you […]

I encourage you all to read the first three stories linked below as they explain how people are buying fake followers on Twitter and the fallout from it. Even if you are not a Twitter user, it is important to understand this shady industry and why people are doing it. This includes many names you will recognize!

The last two weeks I’ve shared a total of six videos from my CorelDRAW X6 Unleashed training. Even if you are on a newer (or older) version, the information contained in those videos is relevant. I hope you’ve all taken a few minutes to watch them. C’mon, they are free to watch! Just click the […]

The last two weeks I’ve shared a total of six videos from my CorelDRAW X6 Unleashed training. Even if you are on a newer (or older) version, the information contained in those videos is relevant. I hope you’ve all taken a few minutes to watch them. C’mon, they are free to watch! Just click the links provided and push the play button to enjoy the video. After watching, I’d love it if you would consider purchasing the full training. All training titles are found on the CorelDRAW Unleashed site and it can be downloaded immediately after purchase.

Today I’ve got two new videos to share from my CorelDRAW X5 Unleashed Advanced Topics training. I chose topics that users of many versions could utilize for training. Each of the new videos is listed below.

I’ve long felt that having a good monitor is extremely important for anyone in the content creation business and those in many other businesses. When I’ve had a choice on where to allocate my computer budget, I’ve always pushed more towards a monitor for this reason. Often a good monitor will last through a couple […]

I’ve long felt that having a good monitor is extremely important for anyone in the content creation business and those in many other businesses. When I’ve had a choice on where to allocate my computer budget, I’ve always pushed more towards a monitor for this reason. Often a good monitor will last through a couple of computers. For example, I’m still using a monitor that is eleven years old. While it still works great, I know it will soon be time to upgrade.

My current monitor is 30 inches. It seemed big at first, but now I’d be happy with one even bigger. At the time, my current resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels was the top end. Now you need 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) to even be near the best resolution. As I’ve kept my eyes open for my next monitor, I’ve been looking for a 4K monitor that is at least 40 inches diagonally. Of course I want something that won’t break the bank.

I found a great balance in the Acer ET430K. It is 43 inches diagonal with the desired 4K resolution. It uses an LED built on in-plane switching (IPS) technology for a better picture. Response time is 5ms and brightness is 350 nit. You can connect it via HDMI, DisplayPort and mini-DisplayPort. Connect two and it will even support picture in picture.

Could you find a monitor with a better picture? Sure. Something with more features? Absolutely. But this monitor hits the sweet spot of great features at an affordable price. When I go monitor shopping in the near future, this will be the one to beat.

An effect that often gets overlooked in CorelDRAW is the use of Artistic Media Brushes. Why? I can only guess, but I think it is because they are somewhat hidden and the brushes supplied by CorelDRAW just don’t excite users. So the first goal is for everyone to understand where to find them and how […]

An effect that often gets overlooked in CorelDRAW is the use of Artistic Media Brushes. Why? I can only guess, but I think it is because they are somewhat hidden and the brushes supplied by CorelDRAW just don’t excite users.

The other thing you’ll get from the videos are examples of brushes supplied in the CorelDRAW Brush Packs which are available for purchase. There are some amazing brushes in these collections so they definitely deliver a lot of bang for the buck.

I encourage you all to read the first three stories linked below as they explain how people are buying fake followers on Twitter and the fallout from it. Even if you are not a Twitter user, it is important to understand this shady industry and why people are doing it. This includes many names you […]

I encourage you all to read the first three stories linked below as they explain how people are buying fake followers on Twitter and the fallout from it. Even if you are not a Twitter user, it is important to understand this shady industry and why people are doing it. This includes many names you will recognize!

eBay and PayPal have reached the financial stage of their divorce. Bezos, Buffett and Dimon are going to try to fix US healthcare. iPhone features are great? Or maybe they are awful? These and many more are covered in this week’s tech news. Click on the headlines below for the full stories.

Last week I told you about changes made by YouTube and I asked for your help. One way to help is to Subscribe to the Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel. Subscribe to Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel I also told you that we had provided three videos excerpted from the more than 13 hours in CorelDRAW X6 […]

Has it become obvious that I’ve had video on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks? Last week I talked about rigs for shooting video with your smartphone. One of those rigs included a microphone system that is far better than what is included in the phone. Unfortunately those microphones could pick up […]

Has it become obvious that I’ve had video on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks? Last week I talked about rigs for shooting video with your smartphone. One of those rigs included a microphone system that is far better than what is included in the phone. Unfortunately those microphones could pick up background noise in addition to what you want to record. I’ve got some Amazon links in here for which I earn a few pennies. No, I haven’t gotten anything for free.

For those situations, it would be good to have either a lavaliere microphone or a handheld microphone. Five years ago I wrote Convert a Smartphone Into a Camcorder which included a lavaliere microphone I purchased that worked very well. Today I’m going to look at a handheld microphone.

After some research, I went with the Excelvan K18-V Bluetooth Wireless Microphone shown above. It connects to smartphones via Bluetooth as well as a number of other devices. While Bluetooth does compress audio a bit, it will work great for my video making needs. I’ll have the option of using the microphones on the rig, a lavaliere microphone or this Bluetooth handheld microphone.

With everyone being able to make videos today, it can also be important to feature your branding in every place possible. To make your handheld microphone look just like the big boys, you might want to add a mic flag similar to the one at right. It is as simple as uploading your own artwork and ordering one. It is an extra expense, but it does raise the production quality of videos.

With a recent vintage smartphone, the rigs discussed last week and the microphone in this post; you’ve got a great toolbox for filming high-quality videos. You’ll still need some software to edit those videos and ideas for great content. Maybe you can do it all yourself and maybe you’ll need some assistance. I did the research on these products for my own future video series and I hope it is also useful for you.

Last week I shared that YouTube has made changes to their Partner Program. Yes, we need your help so that we can remain a partner. This has gotten me to thinking about our videos and how we present them on our sites and on YouTube. I also provided three free tutorial videos from CorelDRAW X6 […]

Many of you have at least visited the page for the Design Base Automation Plug-In for CorelDRAW. We do get asked if Design Base is truly free. It is. You need to “order” it, but there is no cost at all. That said, you truly do need to purchase some artwork if you want Design Base to truly deliver on its power.

Some users install Design Base into newer versions of CorelDRAW and claim something is wrong. If you are using CorelDRAW X7, X8 or 2017; you won’t see the “Advanced Tools” menu as described in the videos. This is because Corel doesn’t allow the menu to be created as part of the install process. Select Tools | Macros | Macro Manager or press Alt + Shift + F11 and run the Design Base macro from there.

Now I encourage you to visit the Design Base page and watch one or more of the 17 available tutorial videos. Each of the videos is now presented in a clean portfolio grid so you can easily see what is available. On the page where you watch the video, you’ll also find a slider that links to each of the other videos. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get the most from Design Base and the hours of training videos available.

In between all of my other projects, I’ve been working on a makeover for one page of our Seamless Textures Unleashed site. While the goal was a single page, it involved creating more than 30 new pages. I really want you all to check out the Seamless Textures Collection page and I’m going to bribe […]

In between all of my other projects, I’ve been working on a makeover for one page of our Seamless Textures Unleashed site. While the goal was a single page, it involved creating more than 30 new pages. I really want you all to check out the Seamless Textures Collection page and I’m going to bribe you to check it out. The first ten visitors who spend a minimum of $20 will automatically get a $10 discount. No coupon code is needed. The promotion will expire when either ten people take advantage of it or February 3, 2018 whichever comes first.

Now, on to this week’s Tech News. I’ve got dibs on this one! When ET shows up, who do you call? Apple has a new version of iOS and a way to save speed and Samsung will soon have a new phone. Remember Breaking Bad? A 60-second refresher will bring it back. These are just a few things in this week’s headlines. Click on a headline below to get the full story.

Earlier this week I told you about changes made by YouTube and I asked for your help. One way to help is to Subscribe to the Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel. Subscribe to Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel The other way you can help us is by simply watching our videos. For those who haven’t purchased my […]

Subscribe to Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel

The other way you can help us is by simply watching our videos. For those who haven’t purchased my CorelDRAW X6 Unleashed Multimedia Training, it contains more than 13 hours of training videos. I’ve gone through the video list and selected six of the videos that I thought would be the most useful. This week I’ve posted three of them to YouTube so you can learn for free. I encourage you all to watch them. If you like what you see, consider getting my CorelDRAW Unleashed Multimedia Training. Below are links to each of the new videos posted, enjoy!

If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve had video on my mind a lot lately. This came to the forefront when YouTube made changes to their partner program. I already had some ideas for future videos and it is time to get working on them. Having made some videos with my smartphone in the past, I […]

If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve had video on my mind a lot lately. This came to the forefront when YouTube made changes to their partner program. I already had some ideas for future videos and it is time to get working on them. Having made some videos with my smartphone in the past, I knew there were some limitations I needed to overcome. Today I’ll share some solutions and there will be links to Amazon for which I receive a puny commission. Nothing has been provided to me for free.

While this whole video thing was fresh in my mind, I went to the Grand Opening of a local business last week. I noticed someone there had a rig for their smartphone filming the ceremony for use online. Afterwards, I asked a few questions about their equipment and then I went looking online for my own solution. I’ve found some answers, but I haven’t yet purchased anything since I know my filming is still a few weeks away.

What I saw in action was a different type of rig that seemed to be more stable. So I might want to also get the Ulanzi U Rig Pro Smartphone Video Rig as it allows the person filming to hold the rig with both hands. While the phone shows accessories, they are not included. But I could use the light and audio system from the Saramonic kit. Together, these two give me most everything I need to be a filmmaker.

YouTube will be making some changes to their Partner Program starting February 20, 2018 and that means our channel could be relegated to a lower tier. It also means our videos can’t be monetized with ads. Given that we earn very little, I’m more concerned about being removed from the program. Since the deadline isn’t […]

YouTube will be making some changes to their Partner Program starting February 20, 2018 and that means our channel could be relegated to a lower tier. It also means our videos can’t be monetized with ads. Given that we earn very little, I’m more concerned about being removed from the program. Since the deadline isn’t until February 20, we still have time to qualify and I’m asking for your help. Today is also my birthday so how about you consider your help a birthday present that costs nothing but a small amount of your time.

Currently the only threshold we had to meet is 10,000 lifetime views and that is being removed. Now we have to meet two new thresholds.

The first threshold to qualify is to have 1000 subscribers to your channel. As I write this, we have 981. It is free to subscribe and it simply means you’ll receive notification when we add a new video. Please go to our channel, Graphics Unleashed, and subscribe.

Subscribe to Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel

The second threshold is to have 4000 hours of video watched in the past year. We’re not as close to this one and we’d really appreciate if you can watch a video or two. If you’d like to watch ten videos, we’d be overjoyed. They’re all free, so it is just time and you can even learn something while watching. To see all of the videos we’ve posted, you can find them listed on our Graphics Unleashed channel.

I’m also going to provide a list of some of our most popular videos if you’d prefer to just click and go straight to them. For those of you who are CorelDRAW users, there are a number of them that can help you boost your CorelDRAW skills.

The videos listed above are all related to CorelDRAW in some way. There are many more in our channel if you wish to explore further. I also have a number of videos in the Cave Creek Geek series. All of them are listed on the Web site, but I’ll highlight a few of them below.

We’re also working on adding new videos to the Graphics Unleashed YouTube Channel in the near future. While I will not be creating any new CorelDRAW content, I do have a massive library of previously created CorelDRAW videos I could add to our channel.

In addition, we’re planning a new series of ongoing videos about various technology and Web design topics. The first of these videos would appear well after the February 20, 2018 deadline and this is part of the reason I’m asking for your help now. Thank you in advance for subscribing and watching a few videos.